The emerging role of YAP/TAZ in mechanotransduction

Cells sense their physical surroundings through mechanotransduction—that is by translating mechanical forces and deformations into biochemical signals that can ultimately influence gene expression, cell shape and cell fate. Recently, YAP/TAZ—the main transcriptional effectors of the Hippo signalling pathway, a major growth regulatory pathway within metazoa—have been identified as key mechanotransducers acting by nuclear relays of mechanical stimuli (1).